The pharmaceutical market may have grown 10 per cent in value terms in 2013, but the sector as a whole witnessed lower growth of 9.8 per cent as compared to 16.6 per cent in 2012 due to several challenges faced by the industry, according to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and PwC.
The slowdown is due to the new drug pricing policy and the regulatory interventions over last year, says the report, released here on Thursday.
The Indian pharmaceutical market (IPM) has been now valued at Rs.72,069 crore as against Rs.65,654 crore in 2012, the report says..
“The industry is witnessing additional challenges like delays in clinical trial approvals, uncertainties over the FDI policy, a uniform code for sales and marketing practices and compulsory licensing. The slowdown is also evident from the number of new product launches, which has gone down from 1900 in 2010 to 1700 in 2012,” the report adds.
Chronic therapies
According to the report, the contribution of chronic therapies to the IPM has gone up to 30 per cent in 2013 from 27 per cent in 2010. Chronic therapies (cardio, gastro, CNS and anti-diabetic) have outperformed the market for the past four years, and are growing at a rate of 14 per cent, faster than the acute therapies, which grew at 9.6 per cent.
As per the report, India is perceived as an attractive destination for clinical trials.
The industry is also facing stricter regulations on manufacturing and quality practices in the domestic as well as the international markets. Domestic companies will have to raise their compliance to U.S. FDA regulations as they drive their major share of exports from the U.S. market, the report adds.
“The implementation of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy, 2012, by the government has resulted in margins erosion from 20 per cent and 10 per cent to 16 per cent and 8 per cent for retailers and stockists, respectively.
